Britain’s tennis star, Emma Raducanu, has recently engaged in a fun practice session with the England national rugby union team at their Bagshot training centre ahead of their clash with the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks. Raducanu last competed at the 2025 Ningbo Open, concluding her season after suffering from health issues.
Emma Raducanu Impresses in Her Outing With the Rugby Team
Emma Raducanu, one of Britain’s leading players in the sport, made her mark after clinching the US Open women’s singles title in 2021, defeating Leylah Fernandez in the final round with 6–4, 6–3. She became the second female British player to win a Major singles title, following Virginia Wade’s 1977 Wimbledon Championship achievement.
She began her 2025 season with the ASB Classic and reached the quarterfinal round of the Miami Open, where she faced defeat from World No. 6 Jessica Pegula. At the HSBC Championships, she once again reached the quarterfinals. At the Mubadala Citi DC Open, she advanced to the semifinals in both women’s singles and doubles, partnering Elena Rybakina.
While praising Raducanu for sharing her values with his team, highlighting how they can learn from top athletes and further succeed in their own game, England head coach Steve Borthwick added, “Emma was talking to the players and sharing her experiences about preparing for the elite level of competition, which is terrific. People like her are always very welcome because we learn a lot from the players and enjoy learning from others’ experience.”
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In the video, Raducanu was seen enjoying playing the game as two players lifted her so she could catch the ball. England’s loosehead prop/tighthead prop, Fin Baxter, who was one of the players to lift Raducanu, shared his experience of meeting the tennis star.
“She watched training today and then we did a few bits after. I think she did a bit of kicking with Marcus (Smith). Maro (Itoje) was chatting to her and we were all drifting off, letting two big dogs of their sports talk,” Baxter said.
While highlighting his first meeting with Raducanu, Baxter continued, “We did the lineout. She was very good, and caught the ball. And then afterwards I was like, ‘Hi Emma, I’m Fin by the way’. But it was cool to have her in. The amount of pressure she is under because of how successful she is is definitely something we can all learn something from.”
Raducanu, who ended her 2025 season prematurely due to health reasons, faced defeat from Zhu Lin in the round of 32 at the Ningbo Open. She has been recently preparing herself for the United Cup in January in the mixed-team tournament and will be representing her country alongside Jack Draper.